MMORPG: Rise of the Peerless Pumpkinmancer

"Get away!!" Jack suddenly screamed. 

Most retreated instantly, but a few were half a second late. A nearby crystal suddenly came to life: an elemental! Its shockwave ability stunned five miners. 

That's when another crystal came to life too, a knight this time! It charged at the CC ed miners, skewering them one after the other! 

"Noooo! Screw you, crystal swordsman!" Seeing their friends in dire straits, six miners went forward to help them. 

It barely took them a second to destroy the knight with their combined forces! They smiled at the four survivors, only to hear Jack shouting at them non-stop, "Run!" 

— SPIN! SLASH! — 

The Crystal dragon rotated its body, flailing its sharp blade-like tail around. Every single miner near its body was bisected, a look of surprise on their faces. 

Just like that, they had lost a fourth of their troops! 

The moment the Dragon's minions struck was no coincidence. It was right as the recoil from its breath attack was ending. They had misjudged the situation. 

"All of you, you better freaking follow my orders from now on!" Jack rebuked. 

Their back became drenched in a cold sweat. It's only at that moment that they realized how much his training and directives had saved them! 

"Y-yes!!" 

But even then, overcoming a dragon wouldn't be so easy. Between its breath attack, its minions, and its AoE attacks, it was a nightmare! It was also improving!

At one point, it even used an army-ending attack. As the creature's entire body started glowing, even Jack frowned. 

"There is no escaping from this. Everyone for themselves, don't die." He solemnly stated. 

  — PIERCE!! — 

Pointy and sharp crystals started erupting all over the place. Countless crystal spears were targeting all of their vitals. It was as if the whole cave had come alive and wanted them dead. 

— Block! — 

Jack used his shield to the best of its capacities. While he'd never be able to block any direct attack from the Dragon, he could handle this much. 

[Shield Mastery leveled up!] 

[+5% Defense When Blocking!] 

But even if he was doing fine, the same couldn't be said for the others. Panicked screams and anguished wails echoed all around. Then it finally came to a halt… 

Out of the initial 40 of them, there remained only 16. Maimed corpses laid all over the place, many crushed beyond recognition.

"T-this is a dragon…." A shivering Gorat murmured. 

"It killed so many of them." A blemished random miner remarked crestfallen. 

The morale was at an all-time low. The Dragon grinned as it saw their state. It would finally get its revenge on the pesky humans for battering its heavenly body! 

Sadly, that one annoying human was there once again to screw everything up. 

"Tch— I thought MTG had courage! Guess I was mistaken. Perhaps I should have come here with WC or FF instead." Jack spat out. 

"Bullshit, those pricks are—" One instinctively protested, only to come to his senses. Right, why were they so scared? They were miners! 

May it be sudden cave-ins or monsters, they were accustomed to death. So what if many had died?! They would take the head of the Dragon! 

"Men, ready your picks! Cowards, get out of my sight! Kill this bitch and return peace to the mines!!!" Brehart shouted. 

"CHARGGEEE!!!" 

At this moment, the Dragon felt a strange emotion for the very first time in its life. Why was its body shaking? It suddenly felt the temptation to dig a hole and hide in it. 

What was wrong with these humans?! They were so hard to kill and didn't care even if they perished! 

Thus resumed an intense fight that would forever mark MTG's History! 

Brehart spearheaded their offensive. 

Derek helped the others coordinate. 

The miners fought relentlessly. 

Gorat was on anti-breath duty. 

Jack led from the very back. 

Their numbers dwindled more and more until there remained only 7 of them. But every sacrifice came with a price, and the Dragon's body now looked like swiss cheese. 

"Mine this ugly lizard!" Jack shouted, and they answered. 

Mine they did, mine they sure freaking did! The crystal dragon finally shattered into a thousand pieces with one last wail. The humans all fell, completely exhausted. 

"W-we…we did it?!!!" The remaining miners looked at one another, flabbergasted. 

"Of course! After all, my master was the one leading!" Derek thundered with pride, pointing at the seemingly absent-minded Jack. 

[Destroyed Crystal Dragon!] 

[Gained Tremendous MTG Reputation!] 

[Acquired Crystal Dragon Loot Box! Congratulations!] 

[Acquired Dragon-Slayer Title! +25% Dmg vs Dragons] 

[Complete Quest Investigate Eternal Mines Disturbance? Y/N?] 

Jack suddenly froze. Was the system trolling, or was there more to this quest? 

He frowned as he sneakily glanced at the surroundings. That's when he finally noticed it: a small silver spider was watching them in the corner.

He had to force himself to appear calm. He knew what this thing meant. Fucking hell! Compared to this tiny spider, a crystal dragon was nothing. 

The others were all jubilant, rejoicing at this great victory. They had lost many colleagues, but they would forever be remembered as heroes!

But suddenly, they noticed Jack frowning by the side. He rose and started to pace up and down, restless. Was he sorrowful from losing many brothers? 

Any other commander would have celebrated, even stuffing his pockets with the loot, but he was different. How noble! At this moment, they felt so touched. He was truly worth following! 

Gorat went to him, patting his shoulder. 

"They would have died eventually. We survived thanks to you. You should be proud." He smiled so warmly. But, the touching scene was suddenly interrupted by Jack screaming. 

"ACK! Spider!!!" His shriek was so high-pitched, and he looked absolutely terrified. 

The miners stared in shock. What?! A man who had the courage to insult a dragon was squeamish from seeing a single tiny spider?! Pfft— What the hell! 

— Clang! Splat! — 

"Here you go, all good now." Gorat casually splattered the thing. 

But Jack's entire aura had suddenly changed, making clear that the earlier scene had just been an act. He headed toward the Dragon's corpse, grabbing the loose fragment pieces. 

He then glanced at the larger pieces, too big to fit in his inventory. Without hesitating, he swung his pickaxe! 

— Swing!! — 

"Have you gone insane?! This thing is worth at least a few thousand gold coins! Shattered, it's worthless!" Brehart grabbed the pickaxe, stopping him with a grip of steel. 

"Yeah, brother, please let us handle this! In a few days, we'll all be rich!" Gorat interjected, but Jack only shook his head. 

"No time. We have to leave, NOW! Something far scarier than a dragon is heading our way." Jack solemnly declared. 

"?!?" They all froze. What could be stronger than a dragon?! 

  "Are you 100% certain? Do you have proof?" Brehart inquired. 

"That spider from earlier is a scouting spell. The spell is weak, but the ones who know it are stronger and more perverse than you can imagine." Jack explained. 

A short moment of silence followed. The miners all had the same expression of reluctance on their faces. None wanted to leave this treasure behind. 

"I understand. Alright, we will stay to hide the loot. This way, we'll be able to come back with reinforcements later on!" Brehart quickly decided. 

Everyone nodded in agreement. In a few hours, they would be gone, and they would still keep the treasure. It was the perfect solution! 

Seeing their determination, Jack simply left, not bothering with the remains of the Dragon anymore. As they were leaving, Brehart warned, "If you leave now, you won't get a share…." 

"Fine by me. I wish you luck. You'll need it." Jack waved as he confidently left.

Behind him trailed his student, but also another. Gorat hurriedly caught up to them. "Sir, mind if I join your party?" He begged. 

"Oh? You want to come along? What about the gold? Don't you feel even a little greedy?" 

"Please! What good is gold to a dead man!" There was not an ounce of hesitation in his voice.

The three ran in silence, all the way to the iron area. It's only then that Jack slightly relaxed. Derek couldn't hold it anymore, his eyes brimming with curiosity. 

"Master, I was wondering…." 

"Wondering what was spying on us? A dark elf, a race with all the elves' power and none of the self-restraint." 

"Gasp! They actually exist?! Are they as deadly as in the legends?!" Derek asked. 

"Deadly? No, if only they were deadly. When faced with a dark elf, death isn't a fatality. It's a reward…." Jack solemnly declared. 

He offered a silent prayer to the remaining miners but feared it was far too late. In any case, he had other problems. In the town's direction, holy chimes echoed. 

They were here….